Latest / Antisemitism Watch / Antisemitism Watch - August 24, 2026, 05 PM Eastern

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Antisemitism Watch - August 24, 2026, 05 PM Eastern · Antisemitism Watch

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  Speaker 1: You're listening to antisemitism. Watch I'm Rachel Adler. Today we
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  Speaker 1: cover escalating security concerns for Jewish institutions, new developments in
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  Speaker 1: hate crime reporting from New York, and continued debate over
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  Speaker 1: rhetoric in politics and media. In New York City. NYPD
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  Speaker 1: Commissioner Jessica Tish addressed members of Central Synagogue, stating that
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  Speaker 1: last week's hate attack on the Midtown House of Worship,
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  Speaker 1: for which a suspect faces federal hate crime charges, is
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  Speaker 1: part of a broader pattern of bias against Jews. Commissioner
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  Speaker 1: Tish highlighted that while Jewish people comprise only ten percent
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  Speaker 1: of the city's population, they are targeted in roughly half
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  Speaker 1: of all hate crimes in New York City, according to
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  Speaker 1: reporting reviewed for this episode. Separately, the NYPD released video
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  Speaker 1: footage seeking public assistance to identify two suspects in hate
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  Speaker 1: crime attacks on two Queen synagogues on July sixteen. According
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  Speaker 1: to police, the suspects through bags of motor oil at
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  Speaker 1: Young Israel of Jamaica Estates and Young Israel of Holliswood,
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  Speaker 1: damaging property at both locations. Leaders from the targeted synagogues,
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  Speaker 1: including Rabbi Mosche Taub of Young Israel of Holliswood have
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  Speaker 1: spoken of resilience, though Rabbi Tob also noted his synagogue
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  Speaker 1: had been vandalized with feces. The financial and emotional toll
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  Speaker 1: of rising antisemitism is evident in the escalating security measures
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  Speaker 1: for Jewish institutions nationwide. Synagogues like Temple Israel in Michigan
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  Speaker 1: are spending millions on upgrades for the high Holidays. The
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  Speaker 1: broader Jewish community now expends an estimated seven hundred and
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  Speaker 1: sixty five million to one billion dollars annually on security
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  Speaker 1: and safety, according to the Secure Community Network. Michael G Masters,
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  Speaker 1: CEO of the SCN told The Foreword that this figure
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  Speaker 1: is dramatically higher than in previous years, reflecting what Mitchell Silber,
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  Speaker 1: CEO of the Community Security As Initiative, describes as the
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  Speaker 1: most complicated threat picture the US Jewish community has ever faced.
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  Speaker 1: The FBI reported that Jews were victims of nearly two
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  Speaker 1: thirds of religion based hate crimes in twenty twenty five.
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  Speaker 1: In politics and media, heated accusations continue. Leftist streamer Hassen
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  Speaker 1: Piker has drawn by partisan condemnation for remarks suggesting pro
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  Speaker 1: Israel American Jews could face violence due to their support
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  Speaker 1: for Israel. Piker warned that someone's going to come around
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  Speaker 1: and take action, not against the state of Israel, mind you,
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  Speaker 1: but against American Jews. He also described Israel in inflammatory terms,
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  Speaker 1: warning that Jews tying your entire identity to a country
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  Speaker 1: that inevitably will be seen as Jewish Isis are making
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  Speaker 1: antisemitism worse. These comments were called disgusting and dangerous by
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  Speaker 1: Representatives Hillary Skolton and Josh Gottthamer, with reporting from other
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  Speaker 1: outlets noting that Michigan's Democratic Senate nominee Abdul Elsay is
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  Speaker 1: working to distance himself from Piker. Meanwhile, actor Mark Ruffalo
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  Speaker 1: faces accusations of invoking antisemitic tropes from Paramount's guidance. The
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  Speaker 1: company stated that Ruffalo's use of terms like genocide and
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  Speaker 1: a parteate in his criticism of their proposed merger, which
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  Speaker 1: he linked to Oracle's technology used by the Israeli military,
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  Speaker 1: were a bridge too far. Ruffalo has denied the allegations,
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  Speaker 1: asserting that criticism of government policy and corporate power is
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  Speaker 1: not antisemitism, Though he has a history of making controversial
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  Speaker 1: statements on the conflict. Historian Stephen Ross, in his book
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  Speaker 1: The Secret War Against Hate, argues the far right poses
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  Speaker 1: a greater existential threat to American Jews than the far left,
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  Speaker 1: noting the far right's historical calls for death and deportation. Separately,
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  Speaker 1: an analysis by Honest Reporting AI labs found mainstream media
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  Speaker 1: outlets often use loaded language to describe Jewish visits to
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  Speaker 1: holy sites, subtly diminishing the Jewish connection to the life
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  Speaker 1: on campuses. Distrust of higher education remains a significant issue.
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  Speaker 1: Academic leaders, including Mark Udoff, have identified antisemitism as among
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  Speaker 1: the failures that students expect universities to address. At the
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  Speaker 1: University of Pennsylvania, the recent presidential transition followed controversies that
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  Speaker 1: included the former president's testimony before Congress on antisemitism. These
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  Speaker 1: are complex challenges demanding clear eyed recognition. I'm Rachel Adler.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you for listening to Antisemitism watch. This report was
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  Speaker 1: generated with AI assistance and may contain inaccuracies. Please verify
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  Speaker 1: important details with primary sources.